October 12th, 2020 at 3:30 pm
Dear Village at Belmar Community,
We wanted to provide an update to all of you regarding our community status. We are very pleased to report that all of the testing that was conducted for residents and associates has come back negative, including the second associate referenced in our last update letter who had pending results. We have a few resident tests who are still awaiting results and hope to have these results later today or tomorrow.
Based on what we now know, we are pleased to announce that small group activities will open back up today, outdoor visitation will resume tomorrow, October 13th and the dining room will reopen Wednesday, October 14th.
Additionally, we are working towards the goal of beginning indoor visitation next week and will provide an update letter later this week outlining this program. Please be advised that the guidelines for indoor visitation are state mandated and are fairly strict. They requirements also involve family members obtaining a negative Covid-19 test result, and the visit must take place within 48 hours of when the test swab occurred. Therefore, you will need to get tested at a site with a quick turnaround time. For example, if you schedule a visit for a Wednesday morning, you must have a negative test result and the test must have been conducted mid-day the previous Monday or after. Rapid and PCR (lab) tests will be accepted for the required documentation. We have learned that these tests with quick turnaround are difficult to obtain and can be quite costly. We are hoping to obtain supplies in the coming weeks where we will be able to administer these tests for indoor visits for an additional charge (at our cost, but much less than what is being charged in the open market today).
We will also plan to continue outdoor visits for both Assisted Living and Memory Care for those who want to bundle up when the weather turns, and we will be purchasing some heat lamps to make these visits more comfortable. Outdoor visits do not require a negative Covid-19 test nor the other requirements listed in the paragraph above, and will continue as they have operated for the last few months.
Once we have the remaining pending results, we will put out a communication letter outlining to plans for indoor visitation. Please understand that both indoor and outdoor visitation may not be a permanent relaxation of Covid-19 precautions. The State of Colorado continues to monitor infection rates across the state and may further relax or restrict visitation policies in the future. Additionally, we will be required to conduct bi-weekly testing on all residents and associates and if a positive resident or associate is identified, indoor and possibly outdoor visitation will be halted for a required period of time. We will keep you up to date as circumstances change.
If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.
Sincerely,
Tom & Susie Finley – Founder and Principal
